Donnelly family endorses Cindy Friedman in contest for State SenatePress Release

The family of the late State Senator Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington) issued their “unanimous and enthusiastic” endorsement of his top aide and long-time Chief of Staff, Cindy Friedman of Arlington, to replace him in that legislative body.

In a statement issued by the family, Ryan, Keith, Brenna, and Judy Donnelly said, “Ken loved serving the people of the 4th Middlesex district, and nobody did more for nearly a decade to help him do his job than Cindy.”

“The thousands of hours they worked together to ensure that the people of this district got their fair share of services from the state; the thousands of hours they dedicated to move Ken’s agenda forward; and the thousands of hours they put in together to help individuals navigate the often overwhelming state bureaucracy, are three of the big reasons we as a family intend to work for, and vote for, Cindy.”

“It is important to us that the voters whom Ken served understand that this endorsement of Cindy is an affirmative action on our part to support the person we believe is ready on Day One to do the people’s business. And, because we know how long and how hard Cindy thought about whether or not to be a candidate in this contest, we deeply appreciate her ultimate decision to continue Ken’s legacy and initiatives, especially in the areas of mental health care, worker rights, support for unions, educational opportunity, and wage inequality.”

Cindy responded to the Donnelly family endorsement by saying, “I’m humbled beyond all measure that Ken’s family has the confidence in me that they do. I will always treasure their friendship and the years I worked alongside Ken and will work to ensure that Ken’s remaining agenda, that he wished to see debated and enacted, is aggressively pursued.”

Brenna Donnelly, a co-chair of the Friedman campaign, said, “Speaking for my entire family, we intend to knock on doors; hold signs; make phone calls; and, of course, vote on Tuesday, June 27, for Cindy. We hope that residents in the district who admired my father and the work he did on their behalf for the past nine years will choose to follow our lead.”